1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,240 Welcome to Real Talk Friday with your hosts Rohan Das and Gus Urban. 2 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,400 In this groundbreaking podcast segment, we delve deep into the lives of individuals whose 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,680 journey has been profoundly transformed by their faith. 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:25,200 From the trial of adversity to the triumph of redemption, we explore real stories, real 5 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,400 people whose encounter with God has reshaped their existence. 6 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:35,120 Join us as we embark on a candid and enlightening journey where authenticity meets spirituality 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,640 every Friday on Real Talk Friday, part of Logan City Christian Church. 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,840 Hello and welcome to Real Talk Friday. 9 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,600 My name is Rohan and I'm with Gus Urban here and we have a special guest which Gus will 10 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,720 definitely introduce to you towards the end. 11 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,280 But hey, thank you for all the support that you showed in our first episode. 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:02,160 We've got the biggest view ever for our first episode and that encourages us to do so much 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:03,560 more for you guys. 14 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,040 We are so blessed. 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,360 Yeah, welcome everyone and thanks for joining us again. 16 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:14,480 Today we have a special guest, a man that's got a lot of experience with the Kingdom and 17 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:20,960 out of the Kingdom in his BC years, I take it, but a very interesting man, a friend of 18 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:26,320 ours, a man that's been coming to our church for quite a while now and I just want to welcome 19 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:28,120 you to Mike Corry. 20 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,120 Mike, thanks for joining us this morning. 21 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:31,120 A pleasure. 22 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:32,120 It's a pleasure. 23 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:33,120 Yeah, so. 24 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:34,120 Thank you for inviting me. 25 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,120 No, no, we're very grateful. 26 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:44,760 Yeah, so I guess really our episode is Real Talk Friday. 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,800 That's what it's called and we're just really here. 28 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,560 Just can't wait to hear your story. 29 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,280 It's not going to get any more real than what we're about to experience now. 30 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,880 And it's such a beautiful thing where we can, a person can share their past experiences, 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,320 what God's done in their life and what they've witnessed and it's such an encouragement to 32 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:07,800 other people. 33 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:16,040 So yeah, with that, I guess we start with, you know, tell us a bit about where you were 34 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,720 born, your upbringing and stuff like that. 35 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:19,720 Right. 36 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:26,360 First off, I was born in South East London and the area was you had to learn to fight 37 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,880 before you could read and write. 38 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:35,080 The situation was that school work wasn't that important to me and it never was. 39 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:40,480 And I learned at a very early age, all my mates got to be bigger than me and stronger 40 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:41,480 than me. 41 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,240 So I always had a lot of back support. 42 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,640 But with that, you tend to then get into the wrong element of life, you know. 43 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:52,920 These guys do some strange things and some wrong things. 44 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:57,280 And yeah, it wasn't that easy, but you stuck with it. 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:58,280 Yeah. 46 00:02:58,280 --> 00:02:59,280 Great. 47 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,560 So growing up, did you have any siblings? 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:02,560 Were you the only child? 49 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,800 No, no, no, I had a sister. 50 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:13,400 My father was an ex-sergeant major and we were based in Woolwich, which was South East 51 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:14,760 London, as I say. 52 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:20,920 And obviously, he would tell me that he could get out in a parade gown and shout and he 53 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:28,120 could get 20,000 troops to turn around, but talking to me was just like talking to a horse. 54 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:35,640 It was one of those things, you know, that obviously, anything he said, I backed up and 55 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:36,640 didn't do it. 56 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,640 I went the opposite direction, which I don't know whether that's natural or whether that's 57 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,480 doing your own thing. 58 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,480 Yeah. 59 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:49,840 Just with that, so would you say you had a very good relationship with your father? 60 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:54,600 Oh, well, he never laid a hand on me. 61 00:03:54,600 --> 00:04:00,440 There was never, you know, he was always cordial, but he would always voice his opinion. 62 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,720 And at the simple age of when I was leaving school, you've got to get a job to get a 63 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,520 pension at 15. 64 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:08,520 Yeah. 65 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:13,640 But you're thinking about pensions, you know, and stuff like that. 66 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,360 So I was working mainly on building sites, doing that type of work. 67 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:22,000 So the job might last six weeks, eight weeks, 10 weeks, then you'd be in for another job, 68 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:23,000 you know? 69 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Yeah. 70 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,360 So he was a bit upset about that. 71 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:31,440 And he would try and say, get into something where you're building your life and, you know, 72 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:36,040 thinking years ahead, which in my mind wasn't important in that day. 73 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:46,280 Would you say there was, even though you were father and son, the way you two were, were 74 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:52,240 two almost different people, whereas he was a career man, so to speak, and you were more 75 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,120 of a just take it as it comes or? 76 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:02,440 Yeah, well, I suppose he left home when he was 14 and joined the army. 77 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:07,760 He went all through the war and this and when they finished, he left there and got a job 78 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:08,760 in custom. 79 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,360 So all his life, he only had two jobs. 80 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:12,360 Yeah, right. 81 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:18,360 Where basic level had about 40 or 50 jobs, which is one of those things. 82 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,240 But I'll tell you one thing, I was always looking for something. 83 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:23,240 Yeah. 84 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,680 You know, I was always thinking, well, is it better there or better here? 85 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:34,560 And I had school we'd done a bit on Australia and I was, oh, I'd like to go there one day. 86 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,320 So let's talk about your journey coming to Australia. 87 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:38,800 When did that happen? 88 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:45,280 Well, basically, my mother took me aside one day and she said, Michael John Corey, and 89 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,640 you know, when your mother says something like that, you're into something. 90 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,280 And she said, if you carry on the way you're going, you'll end up in prison with all your 91 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:54,680 mates. 92 00:05:54,680 --> 00:06:00,320 And funny enough, that night there was a television ad for 10 quid tourists, you know, 10 quid 93 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:01,320 bombs. 94 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:02,320 So I thought I'd give that a go. 95 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,480 So the next thing I did was up Australia House. 96 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,760 They said, I'm single. 97 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:08,400 Yeah, blah, blah, blah. 98 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:12,860 Look, we have vacancies on Qantas Airlines that we can fill. 99 00:06:12,860 --> 00:06:14,520 Can you go within two or three days? 100 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,040 I said, whenever you're ready. 101 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:22,200 So they got in contact with me and within four or five days, I was landing in Sydney. 102 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:23,200 Really? 103 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:24,200 Yeah. 104 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,720 And what you were in the 60s, was it? 105 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:27,720 Yeah, 60s. 106 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:28,720 Yeah. 107 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:29,720 Yeah. 108 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:34,160 And I remember coming to Sydney Airport there. 109 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,120 Guy come up, he gave me the Sydney morning herald. 110 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,120 He said, there's the jobs and there's the accommodation. 111 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,040 We booked a week's accommodation with this person and we'll drive you over. 112 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,480 So he drove me over to this person and said, see you have a good life and shot through, 113 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:48,480 you know. 114 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:49,480 Really? 115 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:50,480 Wow. 116 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,400 That's a pretty, pretty rude wake. 117 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:58,160 Pretty enough, there were factories opposite where this lady lived and next door I was 118 00:06:58,160 --> 00:06:59,840 in there and I got a job straight away. 119 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:03,200 So it was quite fortunate, you know. 120 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,160 So yeah, and that's the way it started. 121 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:08,160 And I was quite happy. 122 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:09,760 I mean, I just love the climate. 123 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:16,920 It's nothing like coming away to a sunshine place where London itself was miserable. 124 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,960 Sorry for all the English people. 125 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,320 And it's one of those things. 126 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,120 It started off real great. 127 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:29,480 And yeah, so that was, that really gave you like a sense of adventure. 128 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,600 Yes, yes, yes. 129 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,960 So then I'd always known about the snowy mountain. 130 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,560 So I got myself up there and I got myself a job. 131 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:46,600 And that was quite good because of the simple reason that in Australia you could more or 132 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:53,480 less, I was working with Thies at the time, GI Dam, and they sort of said, can you drive 133 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:54,480 this? 134 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:55,480 Can you drive? 135 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:56,480 Yeah, give it a go. 136 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:57,480 You've got wheels, I drive it. 137 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,800 So I learned to drive a lot of equipment and a lot of stuff. 138 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:09,960 And I worked on Murray 1, Murray 2 power stations, Kencova Dam and GI Dam out there. 139 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,520 It was very, a lot of money, a lot of booze, a lot of fights. 140 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:16,880 And I was in the element, you know? 141 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,160 I was a bit of a Philistine then. 142 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:22,920 It was one of those things. 143 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,080 So as I can hear, you've had some amazing jobs. 144 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,800 You had an adventurous life. 145 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,440 Let's come to your relationship with God. 146 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:37,360 And at that period, would you say you had a strong relationship with God or not really? 147 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,320 No, no, I never had. 148 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,080 I did, I'll tell you about an episode I had at Slinks Pass. 149 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:52,280 There were grading Slinks Pass and I had a heavy lot of alcohol the day before. 150 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:56,280 And the guy went off and graded and I was going to have a sleep in the ute. 151 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:01,020 But then I said, hey, Lord, I'm right at the top of the top of the world here. 152 00:09:01,020 --> 00:09:03,120 What about a burning bush or something like that? 153 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:04,120 Nothing happened. 154 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,120 So I go, yeah, right. 155 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,120 Okay. 156 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:08,120 I'll give you a chance. 157 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,120 That's it. 158 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:10,280 It's all over, you know? 159 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:15,960 But through my life, I went up to Mount Isa, guy I was working with became a Christian. 160 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:16,960 He gave me a Bible. 161 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,160 Then I worked in Adelaide for a while. 162 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:20,680 Another guy became a Christian. 163 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:21,960 He was talking to me. 164 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,800 So God never let me alone, if you know what I mean. 165 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:33,240 Though I'd asked him all those years before, I didn't realise sometimes it takes a while 166 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,440 for him to get you going. 167 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:36,440 Yes. 168 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:37,880 It's always God's time. 169 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:38,880 That's right. 170 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,680 But the main thing was I married this lady and she had two children. 171 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:47,240 The guy, one of the son grew up and he became a drug addict. 172 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,640 Anyway, we had a blue kicked him out. 173 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:56,280 He got picked up by COC, went to Bible college for five years, then invited me up to church. 174 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,960 So I rocked up the church one Christmas. 175 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,600 Didn't have a very good reception because I was very anti whatever, you know? 176 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:04,600 Yeah. 177 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:06,440 And the pastor there said to me, what do you think? 178 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:13,960 I said, well, look, I've never believed in the Easter bunny, Jesus Christ or Santa Claus. 179 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:14,960 Yeah. 180 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,280 So he said, what do you think? 181 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:18,960 I said, you're only after me money. 182 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,200 Anyway, he said, keep on coming. 183 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:30,160 So in the January, year 2000, January the 13th, went there and my stepson said to me, 184 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:31,960 do you want to give yourself the Lord? 185 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,440 I said, hang on, I'll ask him, you know, and I'm always very straightforward. 186 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:37,080 I tell you Lord, you got your chance. 187 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:38,080 Here it is. 188 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:39,360 There was a slight tap on the shoulder. 189 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:45,360 And as I turned, I got like some kin hit me in the stomach and the next minute I'm crying. 190 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:46,360 Oh, wow. 191 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,680 The next minute I'm out there, give my life to the Lord. 192 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:53,680 And the pastor said, there you go, he got you eventually. 193 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:55,600 And I said, yep. 194 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:00,400 But in that moment, I used to swear every other word, you know? 195 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:07,920 And when they say your eyes are open and your ears are open, my complete everything changed. 196 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:08,920 Yeah. 197 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,240 I just couldn't understand it. 198 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:12,880 And I was 58 at the time. 199 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,080 So hey, look, I'd been that many years as a Philistine doing these things, that thing, 200 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:19,480 that, this, that and other. 201 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:25,000 So the change in me was, wow, I couldn't understand it anyway. 202 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,000 Yeah. 203 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Yeah. 204 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:34,840 It reminds me of the change we saw, seen Paul in the Bible after, you know, God came to 205 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:42,240 him and he completely changed from a murderer to, you know, something we adore him in the 206 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,040 Bible for the work he's done. 207 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:45,040 Yeah, that's right. 208 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:50,120 But yes, coming back to you, it looks like God's really changed your heart at that point. 209 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:55,960 So as we said in our last episode, it's not always an instant thing. 210 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,480 It takes time for us to change. 211 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,160 You know, it's not like, you know, you're born again instantly. 212 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:03,360 There is a journey. 213 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:09,680 So let's talk about more of that journey after you gave your life to Christ. 214 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:14,120 What kind of things did you battle with or what kind of things that, you know, you were 215 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,400 still working on as a new Christian? 216 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:20,920 I don't think I battled a lot, to be honest. 217 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:27,920 First thing, they used to have an outreach down the valley to pick up homeless and whatever. 218 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:28,920 So I could drive a bus. 219 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,420 So I put my name forward. 220 00:12:30,420 --> 00:12:32,520 So I was driving a bus picking up. 221 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,800 I did have a bit of a, what can you say? 222 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,440 It's funny with God when you say things and he puts you right in it. 223 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:47,760 I used to pick up these dirty, filthy people that smelled and I go, I don't need this. 224 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:53,280 Anyway, I used to sit and listen to them and talk to them and some ended up in prison. 225 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:54,880 And that was the main thing. 226 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,600 I went to visit them. 227 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:02,000 So in going to visit them, they put me under other guys. 228 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,720 And eventually as an ordinary person, I was visiting 20 people. 229 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,840 Then the authorities said, you can't visit that many people because you're not related 230 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:12,840 to them. 231 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:14,520 I said, I'm afraid not, not, not. 232 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:19,600 So in the end I had to join prison fellowship, which was run by Chuck Colson. 233 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,680 I don't know where they watergate. 234 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,640 Do you know the watergate, Nixon? 235 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,640 No, not really. 236 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:34,880 Nixon, they got into someone else's building and they looked what the opposition were doing 237 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:35,880 for their thing. 238 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:41,280 Anyway, Chuck Colson was their lawyer and he'd done a bit of time in prison. 239 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,680 Actually met Chuck many, many years later. 240 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:50,960 But anyway, I joined prison fellowship and in prison fellowship, I was a volunteer for 241 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,120 a while and then I became a chaplain. 242 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:59,080 So I ended up going into two prisons and a youth detention center. 243 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,960 I just, I just love it. 244 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:02,960 It was my cup of tea. 245 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,400 I was talking to guys that I could talk to. 246 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,880 And I had the outer knowledge of doing this and doing this. 247 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:12,720 If they'd done that, I'd done it. 248 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:18,000 And they were quite, they were quite open because I'd been there, done that. 249 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,760 There was a lot that you could relate to. 250 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:20,760 That's right. 251 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:21,760 That's right. 252 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:22,760 Yes. 253 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:27,360 Even with the youth detention, though I couldn't play too much basketball or touch football 254 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,120 then, I could sit down and talk to them as a granddad. 255 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:31,120 Yeah. 256 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:36,960 And quite a few kids would sit there and, oh, I wish my dad had said that to me. 257 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,080 So yeah, that's incredible. 258 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:40,080 It is. 259 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,080 It is. 260 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:42,080 It is. 261 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,280 I thought God had put me in the right place. 262 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:45,280 Absolutely. 263 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:50,080 Sort of like where he's, he's got that perfect plan for your life. 264 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,080 Well, this is it. 265 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:52,080 You fill it. 266 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:53,080 Yeah. 267 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:58,960 And then you just see, I guess, especially today, a lot of people don't really have many 268 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,760 fathers or even good fathers. 269 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:08,800 And so we see spiritual men of God that can take that spot and relate what they have to 270 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:10,120 your heavenly father. 271 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:16,080 And it's just, it's just a great door that gets opened into young people's life or anyone's 272 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:17,080 life really. 273 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:22,280 I might just mention that it's just a, on Mother's Day, nearly all the cards in prison 274 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:23,640 were bought. 275 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,480 On Father's Day, they didn't sell too many cards. 276 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:27,480 Really? 277 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:33,160 So that's incredible how you were saying, you know, most of the guys love their mother, 278 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,040 but really couldn't stand their father. 279 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:39,160 And it's, it's quite an incredible thing when you sit down and talk to them and you 280 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:41,840 say, oh, something about, oh, I don't like this. 281 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:43,880 I said, I'm not talking about your earthly father. 282 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:44,880 What about your heavenly father? 283 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:45,880 Yeah. 284 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:47,080 He's watched out of you, you know. 285 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,280 So you can be a conversation in that way. 286 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:50,280 Yeah. 287 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:51,280 Yeah. 288 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:52,600 And that's an interesting statistic. 289 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,000 It's very, very interesting. 290 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Yeah. 291 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,440 And I think so, like, sometimes I feel the relationship we have with our earthly father 292 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,040 is kind of determines the relationship we have with our heavenly father. 293 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,240 Because unfortunately, that's how it is. 294 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,400 It's not the other way around, which I would hope it would be the other way around. 295 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:11,400 Yeah. 296 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:12,400 But it's not, it's not. 297 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:17,200 But coming back to your prison fellowship, so how long did you do this prison fellowship? 298 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:18,760 Oh, 15 years. 299 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:19,760 15 years. 300 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,840 Oh, so a lot of time visiting the prisons, visiting the people. 301 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:24,840 Fantastic. 302 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,840 Meeting a lot of people. 303 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:26,840 A lot of people. 304 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,320 And spreading the word. 305 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,800 And I think people were more receptive. 306 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:32,920 Yep. 307 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,480 I think if, I never went in with the Bible under my arm. 308 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:37,480 Okay. 309 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:38,880 I always sat down and said, how you going? 310 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:39,880 Do you enjoy the football? 311 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:40,880 Oh, not a football player. 312 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:41,880 Well, what do you do? 313 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:42,880 You know, and come on that way. 314 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:43,880 Yep. 315 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:44,880 Yep. 316 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:45,880 And I say, what are you doing in here? 317 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:47,880 I said, oh, bikey instance. 318 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,640 I went in the bikey unit, right? 319 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,240 Walked in there, all big guys. 320 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:52,840 So I said, no. 321 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,120 So a bloke said to me, who are you? 322 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:58,600 I said, I'm a prison chaplain. 323 00:16:58,600 --> 00:16:59,600 And what do you do? 324 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:00,600 I said, get you to heaven. 325 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,760 And he said, I said, I like your tats, brother. 326 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,360 I said, I'm thinking of having a few tats put on my head. 327 00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:09,000 He said, oh yeah, what are you having? 328 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,000 I said, a few rabbits. 329 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:11,680 He said, what are rabbits for? 330 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,440 I said, from a distance, they look like hairs. 331 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,000 Because that breaks the eye. 332 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,000 You know? 333 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 There you go. 334 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Oh. 335 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000 Oh, that's a good one. 336 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,760 So you can sit down and talk with him. 337 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,200 And actually with him, we sat down and talked about it. 338 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,120 And he started to think about it. 339 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:31,680 And then he was winching all the time with his mothers and fathers. 340 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,720 I said, look, it says, honor your mother and father. 341 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:40,080 Now I want you to do, first thing I want you to do is write a letter to your mother and 342 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,680 a letter to your father, because they were separated. 343 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,920 And ask them to forgive you. 344 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:54,080 And then ask them if they will forgive him for what he done. 345 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,080 That's an amazing thing. 346 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,840 I don't know who put that in my mind, but I think God must have at the time. 347 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,200 Anyway, he got a letter back from his mother. 348 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:07,160 And he said, oh, mom's apologized for the way they were doing drugs and this and that. 349 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:08,720 I'm welcome back there anytime. 350 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:09,720 Really? 351 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:11,520 But he didn't get a letter back from his father. 352 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:12,520 Okay. 353 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:18,120 So I said, once you can honor your mother and father, now that's it. 354 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:20,720 You can't go back there and say, it wasn't my fault. 355 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,840 They were the ones that were doing it. 356 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,600 Now we have progress. 357 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:26,600 We can go forward. 358 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,000 You can give your life to the Lord and we can get you going. 359 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:36,040 They gave his life to the Lord, but as Jowell is, they move them around a lot. 360 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:38,120 You don't see them and they... 361 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,200 Well, it's just a seed. 362 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,920 We just hope someone else waters it. 363 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:44,920 Exactly right. 364 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:50,840 Well, that's very, very powerful seed that you've actually sown into his life. 365 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:57,160 Being there as a minister of God, we know that God will always move through people that 366 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,000 are willing to just go. 367 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,320 We see it all through the Bible and that. 368 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,960 And it's funny that you mentioned about honoring your father and mother because that's the 369 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,320 first commandment with a promise. 370 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:14,960 We also see that, I believe it's Deuteronomy, I can't remember the chapter. 371 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:21,040 I think 27, I believe in chapter 27 where the Bible actually says of how that cursed 372 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,560 are those who dishonor their parents. 373 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:32,280 So actually dealing with that in someone's life is changing a lot and really preparing 374 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,000 the heart for God to move. 375 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,440 But just with that, it was so amazing. 376 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,560 I wouldn't have thought of that. 377 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,080 It was just talking to him and suddenly it comes into my mind. 378 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:47,280 I go, Lord, you're still with me and you're putting your foot through me. 379 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,480 I mean, sure, God must have, it must have been God because it wasn't me. 380 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,280 I mean, I'm not that affluent and whatever. 381 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,600 And suddenly something like that happens, you go, right, what comes in goes out. 382 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:00,600 Exactly. 383 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:01,600 I've got to do that. 384 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:02,600 Yeah. 385 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,360 It's definitely got putting you in the right place at the right time. 386 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:06,360 Yeah. 387 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:07,360 Yeah. 388 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:13,280 So coming to all that, you've done profound things in the prison. 389 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:20,760 Do you have something that, a story that was played through that you thought was divine 390 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,480 or that was from God? 391 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:27,160 Of course, there's a lot you might have done that is from God, but something that stands 392 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:33,480 out to you that you think was, okay, you doubted on it, but this is definitely from God. 393 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:34,480 Yeah. 394 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:35,480 Yeah. 395 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:41,080 So it's always good to have something in there for them to remind. 396 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,840 Well, this ring is M for Michael upside down. 397 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,200 Evidently, it's Arabic for Allah. 398 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:49,200 Oh, really? 399 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:55,960 So I'm sitting there one day, sitting there one day and this guy comes up and he kisses 400 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:56,960 the ring. 401 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,480 And I said, hey, hang on, mate, I'm not the Pope. 402 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,560 He said, no, Allah, Allah is Muslim. 403 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,080 I didn't know he was Muslim, you know. 404 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:11,040 So we sat there and we talked and we talked about, oh, no, Jesus is only a prophet. 405 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,600 I said, look, when you get back in your cell tonight, you in a single cell? 406 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,160 Yeah, I'm in a single cell. 407 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:21,640 I said, just walk up and down and ask Jesus to come into your life. 408 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,320 And he said, okay, I'll give it a try. 409 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,720 So anyway, I saw him a few, because you don't see guys all the time. 410 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,560 I see him a few weeks later. 411 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:30,560 Okay. 412 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:31,840 And he comes up to me and he said, you know what happened? 413 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,680 He said, I done what you said, and then I don't know whether I was dreaming or whether 414 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,600 I, but someone was in my cell. 415 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,000 And I said, who are you? 416 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,800 And he said, I'm the way, the truth and the lie. 417 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:44,800 No. 418 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:45,800 Hang on, brother. 419 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,800 So I had a Bible and I went boom, boom, boom. 420 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:48,800 Look. 421 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,000 And he said, wow. 422 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000 That's incredible. 423 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,960 I said, well, knock me down with the feathers. 424 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,840 Anyway, so we started him on a few Bible studies and this and he said, don't tell the other 425 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:01,840 Muslims. 426 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:03,240 I said, Oh, I don't tell anybody anything. 427 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:04,240 Yeah. 428 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,640 You know, but then again, you see, he got moved on. 429 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:07,640 Yeah. 430 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,760 And this is the trouble with stuff. 431 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:15,840 You try to disciple these guys, but suddenly they get moved on to this one and that one. 432 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,200 And you can't always stay in base, but that's quite incredible. 433 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:24,280 But that is that very, I've had so many. 434 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:25,280 Can I waffle on? 435 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:26,280 You sure can. 436 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:27,280 Yeah. 437 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:28,280 Yeah. 438 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:29,280 I'm having a great time. 439 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,280 I was sitting at a table like there's about eight of us seeing. 440 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:33,280 They were talking about, ah, God's not real. 441 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:34,280 Okay. 442 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,280 I said, let's all hold hands. 443 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,280 I'm not holding hands. 444 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:40,280 I said, hold hands. 445 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:41,280 Come on. 446 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,080 So we all hold hands and I started praying in tongues. 447 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,680 And the next minute you could feel the Holy Spirit coming through us. 448 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,880 And one of the guys said, what's going on? 449 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:52,880 Who's got the electric shocks? 450 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,680 I said, I've got nothing up my sleeve. 451 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:56,680 And they all broke then. 452 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:57,680 Wow. 453 00:22:57,680 --> 00:22:58,680 I said, did you feel anything? 454 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,680 I said, yes, I felt something go through. 455 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,680 I said, that's a movement of Christ. 456 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,680 Now, do you believe that? 457 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:05,680 Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 458 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:07,680 I said, look, I've got a short sleeve, sir. 459 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,680 I always wear a short sleeve shirt. 460 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:11,680 So I can't put anything up. 461 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:12,680 Yeah. 462 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:13,680 Yeah. 463 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,680 But imagine that everybody got, oops, sorry. 464 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:19,680 Everybody got touched at that moment. 465 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:20,680 Yeah. 466 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:21,680 And they take no notice. 467 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:22,680 Yeah. 468 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:23,680 Yeah. 469 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,680 But you do find that, that maybe later on in life something will be. 470 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:32,680 And, you know, I mean, I can say all the people that tried to touch me years ago. 471 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:33,680 That's right. 472 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:34,680 Yeah. 473 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:35,680 It never worked. 474 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,680 But then all of a sudden I can realise that God was trying to get in touch with me all 475 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:39,680 that 30 years ago. 476 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:40,680 Yeah. 477 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,680 I think sometimes we judge success by a conversion rate. 478 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:44,680 Yep. 479 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,680 And not so much by just simply doing what God's called us to do. 480 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:49,680 Yeah. 481 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,680 So I was talking to a guy a couple of weeks ago. 482 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:59,680 And he's been bringing these young kids to youth and he's not really seeing much change 483 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:00,680 or much fruit. 484 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:06,680 And really it was, we were just talking about and discussing about just the amount of seed 485 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:10,680 that's been sown in the past six months in these kids' life. 486 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:11,680 Yeah. 487 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,680 We just never know what God can do with that seed. 488 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:14,680 It's a tool. 489 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:15,680 Yeah. 490 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:19,680 And also with that, like, you might not see everyone in that you'd been converted, but 491 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:27,680 that one person that changes and gives his or her life to God, that's enough success 492 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:28,680 for the kingdom of God. 493 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:29,680 Exactly right. 494 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,680 And we need to remember that sometimes. 495 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:33,680 Yeah. 496 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:34,680 No, for sure. 497 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:35,680 For sure. 498 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,680 I did find that with every unit I used to go in, what, there's 80 blokes, I'd make 499 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:41,680 sure I shook hands with everybody in that unit. 500 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:42,680 Yeah, well. 501 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,680 Because to the annoyance, oh, since I... 502 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:51,680 The authorities didn't like it too much, but in shaking hands with someone and they said, 503 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:52,680 who are you? 504 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:53,680 Oh, I'm a prison chaplain. 505 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,680 I'd be like, oh, but you may need me someday, brother. 506 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:57,680 Exactly right. 507 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,680 And it was amazing the number of blokes might come up and say something to me after, you 508 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:02,680 know. 509 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:03,680 Really? 510 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:09,680 But if you touch base with everybody in that, you're not setting yourself apart. 511 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:10,680 Yeah. 512 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,680 And I thought that does happen. 513 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:19,680 Sometimes people would set themselves apart, they might just go into a unit and just sit 514 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,680 down, one of the other chaplains, wait for them to go to them. 515 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:24,680 Yeah. 516 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,680 Whereas if you go around and interrupt their card game, you say, oh, he's got a good hand. 517 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:29,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 518 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:33,680 And be a part of the boys, they will remember. 519 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:34,680 Exactly. 520 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:35,680 You know? 521 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:44,680 And I think you have to put your, what is it, your stamp on the situation. 522 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:45,680 Exactly right. 523 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:50,680 So, well, that, because they often phone up and say, you're the bloke with all the rings. 524 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,680 Where's the chaplain with all the rings? 525 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:54,680 The mouthy guy. 526 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,680 So therefore, you have set yourself into their... 527 00:25:58,680 --> 00:25:59,680 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 528 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:04,680 I guess someone sitting down and just waiting for people to come, sort of like, well, he's 529 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:05,680 not even interested. 530 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:12,680 It's like, yeah, so you being out there, touching base with people, making connections, that 531 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,680 they actually see this guy must actually care. 532 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,680 He's comfortable with us. 533 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:23,680 He's not, he doesn't feel uncomfortable where he doesn't want to talk to people. 534 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:24,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 535 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:25,680 That's true. 536 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:26,680 Yeah. 537 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:32,680 You know, quite recently I was watching a video and it was a court scene in America. 538 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:40,680 And this person had killed the daughter or the son, I can't remember, of this man. 539 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:46,680 And many other people, and they were all in the courtroom and everybody was saying some 540 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:51,680 kind of speech, telling him bad words or some slurs. 541 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:52,680 And it didn't make a difference. 542 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:57,680 He was just sitting in the seat with his lawyer and he didn't react. 543 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:58,680 Yeah. 544 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:03,680 And this last guy came and he said, you've caused so much trouble to my family. 545 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,680 My son or daughter, I can't remember, was killed. 546 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:08,680 But you know what? 547 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:09,680 I forgive you. 548 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:10,680 Yeah. 549 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,680 When he said, I forgive you, he just started crying. 550 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:15,680 I got him. 551 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:16,680 Yeah. 552 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:17,680 That got him. 553 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,680 Nothing else did, but that got him. 554 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:24,680 That shows that forgiveness, that even God forgives us for so many things we do. 555 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:25,680 That's right. 556 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:31,680 It affects us and it really puts an impact in us and shows love. 557 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,680 And that's more than anything, that's what we respond well to. 558 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:36,680 We all are needy. 559 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:43,680 We all want that love and we want godly love and unconditional love. 560 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,680 And that only comes from God. 561 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,680 And that's exactly what these guys also want. 562 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,680 And they're no less human than anyone else. 563 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:53,680 No, that's right. 564 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:54,680 Yeah. 565 00:27:54,680 --> 00:28:01,680 And coming back to the prison, you told us a very good story behind the scenes about 566 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,680 something about the red letter. 567 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,680 We would like to hear that from you again. 568 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:10,680 I think that's a very, very interesting and an amazing testimony. 569 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:15,680 Now, as I do, I would always carry a few Bibles in a bag. 570 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:22,680 And I was talking to this guy and he had a planter's wart that was split open on the bottom of his foot. 571 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,680 And we were talking and I gave him a Bible and we opened it up and I said, 572 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,680 see the red writing there, that's Jesus speaking. 573 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:37,680 There's a good, where a lady had an issue with blood and she just touched Jesus and the issue of blood went away. 574 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,680 And he said, oh, in that moment we were called out because they do that in prison, right? 575 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:43,680 Everybody out there. 576 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:50,680 So, and I saw him a few weeks later and he said, look, I looked at the bottom of his foot and it was healed. 577 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:51,680 Yeah. 578 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:52,680 And I go, wow, how did you get it? 579 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:58,680 He said, no, no, I was reading that, but you showed me about the lady with the issue of blood. 580 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:07,680 He said, I run my finger along the red writing and then I run my finger around the wound and ask Jesus to heal me. 581 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:09,680 And within two or three days, it just started healing up. 582 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,680 That's incredible. 583 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:13,680 So I thought, okay, I'll check this out. 584 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:19,680 So I went up the medical and because I'm a bit dubious sometimes, went up the medical and they didn't even know 585 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,680 he had a plant as well on his bottom of his foot, you know? 586 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:23,680 Yeah. 587 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:24,680 And so, wow. 588 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:25,680 Yeah. 589 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:26,680 Yeah. 590 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:27,680 Well, his faith healed him. 591 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:28,680 Simple faith. 592 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:29,680 Yeah. 593 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:30,680 Yeah. 594 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:31,680 That's right. 595 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:32,680 Yeah. 596 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:39,680 And the trouble is they don't like that when you mention, oh, I shouldn't get, I shouldn't get due to, but the authorities don't like Jesus being mentioned. 597 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:40,680 Yeah. 598 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:46,680 You're sort of working, you're working with them, but they're against you in some way. 599 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:47,680 Yes. 600 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,680 You're always classed as a do-gooder. 601 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:50,680 Yeah. 602 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,680 And well, I said, it does good. 603 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:54,680 That's great. 604 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:55,680 Yeah. 605 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,680 You know, and there might be a couple of officers that are Christian and they're great, you know? 606 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:00,680 Yeah. 607 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,680 But most of them are, of course, pretty rugged and stuff like that. 608 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:05,680 Unfortunately, that's how the world is. 609 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:06,680 Oh, it's, you know. 610 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,680 It's not only in the prison, but you can see it everywhere around. 611 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:11,680 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 612 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,680 You have to battle, battle on. 613 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:14,680 Yeah. 614 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,680 But God can work through any situation regardless, whether it's against you or not. 615 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:20,680 Yeah. 616 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:21,680 Yeah. 617 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,680 And I think you'd know that more than anyone really. 618 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:25,680 That's right. 619 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:26,680 Yeah. 620 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:27,680 Right. 621 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:28,680 Yes, yes. 622 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:39,680 I mean, I used to, every so often we'd run services because there's so many different denominations in there that you only get service once every six weeks. 623 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:44,680 But lucky that I had two prisons, so I got more opportunity for Sunday service. 624 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:48,680 And even that sometimes was amazing. 625 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:53,680 We were there one day and I think I was, because I didn't have a band or anything, so I would play a CD. 626 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:54,680 This was earlier on. 627 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,680 And we were, I surrender all. 628 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:06,680 I look around, these guys have got, you know, I said, come on, turn the, I said, when you surrender, you put your hands up. 629 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:07,680 Yeah. 630 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:12,680 Because you're like a child putting your hands up to your heavenly father. 631 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,680 So he'd lift you up. 632 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:16,680 And I go, huh? 633 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,680 Are these like a mixed Christian, non-Christian? 634 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:21,680 Yeah. 635 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:21,680 So. 636 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,680 Nine times out of ten, they come up to swap drugs or have a chat. 637 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:26,680 Oh yeah. 638 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,680 But that's another story. 639 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:29,680 Yeah. 640 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:38,680 And I said, now look, if a guy came in there with a shotgun and you put your hands up immediately. 641 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,680 And I said, well, maybe not. 642 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,680 We might know him. 643 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,680 But in the hall, bang, put the music back on. 644 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,680 They lifted their hands and that service, three guys go to the south for the Lord. 645 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:53,680 So I mean, how God works in most strange ways. 646 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:54,680 Yeah. 647 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:55,680 Great. 648 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,680 So, wow, you've done amazing things in the prison. 649 00:31:58,680 --> 00:31:59,680 God has. 650 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:00,680 God has. 651 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:01,680 There you go. 652 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:02,680 Who is you? 653 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:03,680 Yeah. 654 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:04,680 So hands and feet. 655 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:05,680 I get these impulses. 656 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:07,680 Okay, sometimes I shouldn't say that, but I do. 657 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:08,680 Yeah. 658 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:09,680 Yeah. 659 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:14,680 Because someone somewhere and sometimes I've upset a lot of people in my life. 660 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:15,680 Even as a Christian. 661 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:16,680 Yeah. 662 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,680 Because I believe God's telling me something. 663 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,680 And then I go and then upset somebody. 664 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:21,680 Yeah. 665 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:26,680 So I've backed off a little bit now because I'm 81 now and I'm getting a little bit older 666 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,680 and I can't box my way out of the way. 667 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:30,680 You've got to be careful. 668 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:31,680 Yeah. 669 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:32,680 You know. 670 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:33,680 Yeah. 671 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,680 But with that, as I said, God used you in many in profound ways. 672 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,680 And we're so blessed to have you in this show. 673 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:41,680 Absolutely. 674 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:47,680 But during that time, I just want to know because we know a little bit about your story and 675 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:51,680 we know you were struggling a bit in terms of health. 676 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:58,680 And you had a lot of, you know, own personal problems that I'm sure God was working too. 677 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:03,680 Let's talk about more about yourself during that period and your health and everything 678 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,680 and how God was working in you. 679 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:13,680 Well, it's quite funny because my wife, she became a Christian just after me. 680 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,680 And she said one day, God's told me you should have a blood test. 681 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:18,680 I said, oh, come on. 682 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:22,680 So I went on a blood test and they found out I had prostate cancer. 683 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,680 So, okay, fair enough. 684 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:26,680 One up to my missus. 685 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:30,680 I said, you listen to God too. 686 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:31,680 That's great. 687 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:38,680 Anyway, we go through that and I get a good put on a program of radiation. 688 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,680 Well, they radiate you from four different sides and this, that and the other. 689 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:44,680 And that seemed to work. 690 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:50,680 While I was in there, the opportunity came, I could pray for the operators. 691 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,680 I could pray for them. 692 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,680 And I tell you, it's quite, they get quite put back. 693 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,680 I could imagine. 694 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,680 I went up into the specialist and I said, first thing we sit down, oh, Michael, how are you? 695 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:03,680 Do you mind if I pray for you? 696 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:04,680 Wow. 697 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:05,680 What, what, what, what? 698 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,680 I said, no, no, look, I'm a Christian. 699 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:09,680 This happened. 700 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:10,680 Do you mind if I pray for you? 701 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:16,680 And I just prayed that God would give you the light and the, the guidance in my case. 702 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:22,680 And that in your life that he would flow through and keep everything really good for you. 703 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:23,680 Yeah, yeah. 704 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:24,680 So something simple like that. 705 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:30,680 And once, because I then got testicle cancer, which had to remove one of my testicles. 706 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:33,680 And the thing was, I prayed for the doctor then on the thing. 707 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:36,680 I said, you don't mind if I pray for you, my dear? 708 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:42,680 Just so the hands are steady and you do the right thing. 709 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:47,680 It's amazing how a strike, they don't get it. 710 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:48,680 Yeah. 711 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:55,680 Now, if everybody was Christian, went in and prayed for, for the, they might get it, but they don't. 712 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:56,680 Yeah. 713 00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:59,680 You know, as Christians, we're very, what's the word? 714 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,680 We, we, we, we're not to say we're Christians, but they don't want to pray for anybody. 715 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:05,680 But this person's in a responsible job. 716 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:07,680 He's got responsibilities now. 717 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:08,680 Yes. 718 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,680 Surely, you know, keep your angels around this guy as he works the day long. 719 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:13,680 Wherever they are. 720 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:18,680 And in the waiting rooms where you get a lot of blood, saying, oh, I've got prostate cancer, this, that, and the others. 721 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,680 Well, and they would say, why are you so happy? 722 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:22,680 Well, I've got my mate Jesus with me, you know? 723 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:23,680 Yeah, exactly right. 724 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:28,680 Well, I'm a Christian and Jesus has come into my life and he's shown me a different way to work. 725 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:30,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 726 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:31,680 No, absolutely. 727 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:35,680 It's, well, I suppose, sometimes I think I'm a bit of a nutcase, you know? 728 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:38,680 But again, if I am good on me, you know? 729 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:39,680 Yeah. 730 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:40,680 But that's life. 731 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:51,680 And I think, I think we should, as Christians, put ourselves more out there in areas we can't really, we really don't think we should be, you know? 732 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:52,680 Yeah. No. 733 00:35:52,680 --> 00:36:02,680 I've learned that in the time I spent, I think I got into one argument with some guy and then they threw a bucket of water on there and he said, walk across that then. 734 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,680 If you're so smart, I said, it's not deep enough, brother. 735 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,680 Then the officer came out and reprimanded him. 736 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:18,680 So it was, but, you know, I think you, as I say, I was in there with some really rough, rough guys. 737 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:19,680 Yeah. 738 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:27,680 But they treat it, if you treat them and you don't push yourself right into their space or ask them, is it okay if I come into your space, brother? 739 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:28,680 Yeah, yeah. 740 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:29,680 You know? 741 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:30,680 Yep. 742 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:31,680 And no one answers them that. 743 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:32,680 Yeah. 744 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,680 Because the officers would say, brrrr, but I asked them, it's okay. 745 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:37,680 So you sit down and talk with them. 746 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,680 And they appreciate you because you've asked. 747 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:41,680 If I can speak to you. 748 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:57,680 I guess you would be the only person there treating them like a person, not like a gangster or a criminal or that they would, just the way they're treated by you would be totally different to everyone else, I could imagine. 749 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:01,680 Well, I mean, I was in a rough neighborhood as a kid. 750 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:05,680 Anybody put their face into you, you know, it was on for young and old. 751 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:06,680 Yeah. 752 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:11,680 So in the same situation, if you say, is it okay? 753 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,680 You know, it's like, this is your territory. 754 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,680 Is it okay if I come in and sit and talk to you? 755 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:18,680 Yeah. 756 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:19,680 Go up and say, blah, blah, blah. 757 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:20,680 Yeah. 758 00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:22,680 Because they, for instance, will say, brrrr, who's he? 759 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:24,680 Yeah, yeah, fair enough. 760 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:25,680 Fair enough. 761 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:26,680 Yeah. 762 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:27,680 That's very good. 763 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:42,680 But yeah, I'm very keen to hear about your spiritual life and the kind of spiritual battle you were facing being in the prison, going through health issues and, you know, going through life itself. 764 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,680 What kind of spiritual battle were you facing? 765 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:52,680 And I just want to know how you dealt with it because I'm sure the listeners would be, you know, keen to know that. 766 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:59,680 Well, I had one experience there. I'd had, this was my sixth lot of chemo. 767 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:00,680 Oh wow. 768 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:05,680 And once I finished that, I was, I said to my wife, Helen, can you drive? 769 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:06,680 And she never drive my car. 770 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:08,680 Yeah. 771 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,680 She said, you must be croc anyway, but God help. 772 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:18,680 And then I laid on the bed and I was, I'd never experienced so much pain in the whole body. 773 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:19,680 Oh wow. 774 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:25,680 And I was just saying, Lord, okay. And my thing is, I think I've had enough, beam me up Scotty. 775 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:26,680 Yeah. 776 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:27,680 You know. 777 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:33,680 And a little voice inside me said, I'm living inside of you and taking half the pain. 778 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:39,680 In that instance, the pain went, I turned over and went to sleep. 779 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:45,680 And I think, is that God talking to me? I don't know. Must be no one else in the room, you know. 780 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:46,680 Yeah, yeah. 781 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:53,680 I had a good experience after my wife died, I had a, she had a little silly Nicky, which is like a Fiat Bambino. 782 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:56,680 And I couldn't get rid of it. I couldn't give it away. This, that and the other. 783 00:38:56,680 --> 00:39:03,680 So I sat there one day and I said, Lord, I said, if you give me someone to buy this car, I'll give the money to the church. 784 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,680 Okay. 785 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:07,680 You wouldn't believe it the next morning the phone rang. 786 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:11,680 Pick the phone up and the bloke said, I believe you've got a Nicky for sale. 787 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:15,680 He said, what's it like? I said, it's full of the Holy Spirit. 788 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:20,680 I said, it's never been booked. It's, it runs well. Come round and see it. 789 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:26,680 So he came round and said, he came round, his son came round and his grandson and his grandson wanted the car. 790 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:27,680 Oh, right. 791 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:35,680 So I provided, and it was probably worth, but anyway, give me $1,500 for it. 792 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:40,680 Then the predicament was I had $1,500. I was short of money that week. 793 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:41,680 Oh. 794 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:46,680 Hang on. Hang on. So I phoned up. I was down at the worship center. 795 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:51,680 So I phoned up one of the pastors there and I said, look, this has happened. That's happened. 796 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:58,680 Keep me honest. I owe the church $1,500. So when I come in, I'll, okay. 797 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:04,680 And that's, that is amazing thing that I think, well, okay, you know, no one knew except me and God. 798 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:05,680 Exactly right. 799 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:11,680 And then do I, do I rob God? You know, I don't think, okay, fair enough. 800 00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:12,680 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 801 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:24,680 I mean, I'm not, what would you say, a theologian? I do things in a rough way and people say, well, God wouldn't work like that. 802 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:27,680 I said, but didn't he have a couple of mates called Peter? 803 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:28,680 He was a bit of a rough dude. 804 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:29,680 That's right. 805 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:41,680 And I think a lot of other things that, that he, he, he was with and I'm probably a lot of these guys, his disciples might have sinned in whatever way it's classified as. 806 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:42,680 Yeah. Yeah. 807 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:56,680 And sometimes speaking as you've got to speak is not always a sin. You know, maybe other people think, oh, you shouldn't use that type of attitude or language. 808 00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,680 I said, well, God's taken the swearing off of me. 809 00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:04,680 God's taken a lot of stuff and I've asked, do I need to change Lord? 810 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:05,680 Yeah. 811 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:11,680 And I believe that he wanted me to change, he'd have hit me with a hammer or something. 812 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:17,680 But I think I don't go too much overboard, but I think, well, you've got to be real nowadays. 813 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:18,680 That's right. 814 00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:22,680 It's, it's balancing spirituality with still being a real human being. 815 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:23,680 Yeah. Yeah. 816 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:27,680 Where you walk into the room, you don't float into the room and, and yeah. 817 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:31,680 No, I always do an hour or so speaking in tongues. 818 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:32,680 Yeah. 819 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:34,680 On the floor doing, doing what you've got to do. 820 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:35,680 Yeah. 821 00:41:35,680 --> 00:41:37,680 But I don't emphasize that. 822 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:38,680 Yeah. 823 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,680 I think, well, that's between me and God. 824 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:41,680 Exactly. Yeah. 825 00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:44,680 If I'm not doing enough, let him give me a nudge. 826 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:45,680 Yeah. 827 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,680 You know, and say, come on, we need more out of you. 828 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:57,680 You know, and I truly believe that that's what it's about, that if you have a relationship with a mate, 829 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,680 he will say, yeah, you're not doing your share, their share here. 830 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:05,680 You know, if you're working with someone, which we all are working with the Lord Jesus Christ, 831 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:10,680 if we are working with and we're not putting our weight, I'm sure he would say, come on, come on. 832 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:11,680 Pick your game up. 833 00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:13,680 Yeah. No, exactly right. 834 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:14,680 Yeah. 835 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:20,680 And that's only my philosophy, I mean, I'm not a philosopher, but I'm sort of, I've been there, done that. 836 00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:23,680 As I say, I've done a few jobs and I've worked a few. 837 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:24,680 Yeah. 838 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:25,680 And I think, well, okay. 839 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:30,680 At the end of the day, common sense will always overrule and that's just where you're at. 840 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:31,680 Yeah. 841 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:34,680 You're a common sense person, keeping it real. 842 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:35,680 Yeah. 843 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:37,680 And just an open vessel for the Holy Spirit. 844 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:38,680 Well, exactly. 845 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:39,680 Keeping it simple. 846 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:40,680 Yeah. 847 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:41,680 Yeah. 848 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:42,680 No, that's fantastic. 849 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:43,680 No. 850 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:44,680 That's amazing. 851 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,680 We're truly blessed to hear all this. 852 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:48,680 Yeah, absolutely. 853 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:56,680 We want to close this podcast very soon, but before we come to the end, we want to know, 854 00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:00,680 do you have a message for our viewers or our listeners? 855 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:08,680 Because we are also recording this on YouTube and just for our listeners, this video will be available shortly after you hear the podcast. 856 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:12,680 So you can actually see our guest speaker and you can see us doing that interview. 857 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:16,680 So we're truly blessed that we were able to record this interview. 858 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:20,680 But yes, would you have something to say to our listeners and viewers? 859 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:33,680 Well, it's very hard for me to push my thing on anybody, but I truly believe that we have to be ourselves. 860 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:38,680 We have to speak out more and we have to really get around people. 861 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:44,680 I mean, people are there, not only Christians, you know, there's kids, there's young kids in the street. 862 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:48,680 They always say good day to them and they always, you know, they might abuse you or something. 863 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:49,680 Yeah. 864 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:50,680 That's okay. 865 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:51,680 Yeah. 866 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:54,680 But if you do it two or three times, they recognize you and they go along. 867 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:58,680 So you've got to be persistent in where you're going, you know. 868 00:43:58,680 --> 00:43:59,680 Yeah. 869 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:00,680 What you're doing. 870 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:04,680 Most of the people in my little street know who I am. 871 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,680 I always have a bit of a chat. 872 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:12,680 We've got some Muslim families moving at the top of the street. 873 00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:18,680 I took them a heap of mandarins up there and now he brings me eggs. 874 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:21,680 I don't know what the situation is. 875 00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:25,680 We talk about, I talk about Jesus, but he says the same thing. 876 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:32,680 And look, I know that people are so set in their ways that they're not going to change. 877 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:33,680 But little by little. 878 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:34,680 Yeah. 879 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:35,680 This is all you can expect. 880 00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:36,680 Little by little. 881 00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:44,680 You know, as Johnny Diamond said on Sunday that if you say, God bless you. 882 00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:45,680 Yeah. 883 00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:47,680 That's just one small thing you can do. 884 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:48,680 Exactly right. 885 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:49,680 And that's what it's about. 886 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:53,680 Do we do that enough or do we avoid these people? 887 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:54,680 Yeah. 888 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:55,680 You know. 889 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,680 They're a bit rough and ready and this, that and the other. 890 00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:04,680 Do we not go, I go in the pub, but I have a counter mill and maybe one beer. 891 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:05,680 Yeah. 892 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:10,680 The bill doesn't say as long as you're not rolling drunk, but you can sit there and you can talk to people. 893 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:11,680 Yep. 894 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:15,680 And they don't expect anybody to be a Christian in a pub. 895 00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:16,680 Yeah. 896 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:17,680 You know. 897 00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:18,680 Yep. 898 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,680 Even the waitresses in the bar people, you can say things to them and they look at you. 899 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:22,680 Yep. 900 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:23,680 You know. 901 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:24,680 Yeah. 902 00:45:24,680 --> 00:45:25,680 Exactly. 903 00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:26,680 And okay. 904 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:30,680 How many people would have a beer and when the, thank you, God bless you. 905 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:32,680 They nearly drop over backwards. 906 00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:33,680 Yeah. 907 00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:42,680 And that's the thing that I know now that when I go in, I've got a little lady comes up to serve me a meal and she knows me and she always gives me a hug. 908 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:44,680 And I don't know whether she's Christian or not. 909 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:45,680 I never push it. 910 00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:46,680 Yep. 911 00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:48,680 You know, but I said, you know, Christian things to her. 912 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:49,680 Yeah. 913 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:52,680 So therefore, little by little. 914 00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:53,680 Yeah. 915 00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:54,680 And there's a lot of people out there. 916 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:56,680 There's a lot of people who don't know Christ. 917 00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:57,680 Yep. 918 00:45:57,680 --> 00:45:58,680 And that's what the trouble is. 919 00:45:58,680 --> 00:45:59,680 You see. 920 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:04,680 When we're pushing it out, we should be grabbing one person per Sunday and bring them in. 921 00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:05,680 Absolutely. 922 00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:06,680 Yeah. 923 00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:07,680 If everybody did that, how? 924 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:08,680 Yeah. 925 00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:11,680 A whole of Australia would be a Christian society. 926 00:46:11,680 --> 00:46:12,680 Wouldn't that? 927 00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:13,680 Yeah. 928 00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:14,680 That's right. 929 00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:15,680 But unfortunately, we don't. 930 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:17,680 And I'm just as bad as anybody else. 931 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:20,680 I might grab one or two people and I get a lot of people. 932 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,680 I'm still in contact with a lot of ex-prisoners. 933 00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:27,680 And it's pretty hard sometimes because they don't always want to get up early. 934 00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:29,680 They don't want to do this. 935 00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:33,680 And then it comes to the situation where they say, you're trying to control my life. 936 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:34,680 I'm not trying to control. 937 00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,680 I'm just trying to have a better life. 938 00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:38,680 Yeah. 939 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:39,680 Amen. 940 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:40,680 Amen. 941 00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:45,680 Well, such a good story that we've had and we've seen how God works through you. 942 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:49,680 And we're truly blessed to have you in our show. 943 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:56,680 We would like to encourage everyone to, you know, kind of pray about their calling, because 944 00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:59,680 sometimes we are called, you had your calling. 945 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:02,680 We have callings in different ways that God's gifted us. 946 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:05,680 So I encourage our listeners to actually pray about that. 947 00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:06,680 Yeah, for sure. 948 00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:10,680 And definitely again, thank you, Mike, for being in our show. 949 00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:13,680 We want to end in a prayer. 950 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:15,680 I think that's very important. 951 00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:17,680 And maybe Gus, you can... 952 00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:22,680 Well, I was actually thinking, Mike, is it okay if you close in prayer, but also pray 953 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:24,680 for all our listeners as well? 954 00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:27,680 Yeah, that would be good. 955 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:33,680 Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for all that you're doing for us. 956 00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:39,680 Lord, and we pray there are people out there that are listening and watching that they 957 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:47,680 will find a little chink in their armour that we have pierced today, Lord, that they can 958 00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:58,680 go out and they can be a part of your...a part of your...oh, hang on, Lord, you give 959 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:05,680 me a blockage here...a part of your calling, Lord, that they can touch people that they've 960 00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:07,680 never touched before, Lord. 961 00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:11,680 They can talk to people that they've never talked to before, Lord. 962 00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:16,680 We pray, Lord, that these wonderful gentlemen that are with me and give me the third degree 963 00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:26,680 today, Lord, that you will watch over them and look after them, keep your angels around 964 00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:27,680 their families. 965 00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:29,680 And Lord, we thank you so much. 966 00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:33,680 We thank you so much for coming into our lives and changing our lives. 967 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:37,680 And that's what it's all about, a change of life, Lord. 968 00:48:37,680 --> 00:48:42,680 So we pray for each and every person out there, Lord, and we say a great amen, Lord. 969 00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:43,680 Amen. 970 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:44,680 Amen. 971 00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:45,680 Thank you so much, Mike. 972 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:48,680 Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. 973 00:48:48,680 --> 00:48:55,680 That was Mike, and he shared an amazing testimony and his amazing life story. 974 00:48:55,680 --> 00:48:57,680 Stay tuned for more. 975 00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:01,680 Thank you again for giving us a very good response for episode one. 976 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:08,680 We'd love you to share, follow, subscribe to our episode two, and there'll be more on 977 00:49:08,680 --> 00:49:10,680 Real Talk Friday. 978 00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:17,680 As we conclude our episode of Real Talk Friday, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our 979 00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:20,680 listeners for joining us on this enlightening journey. 980 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:22,680 But our journey doesn't end here. 981 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:28,680 Join us every Friday as we continue to uncover the real stories of real people, where authenticity 982 00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,680 intersects with spirituality in profound ways. 983 00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:37,680 Together, we'll navigate the complexities of life, finding inspiration and hope in the 984 00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:41,680 remarkable narratives shared within the walls of Logan City Christian Church. 985 00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:45,680 Thank you for tuning in, and until next time, may your faith journey be filled with grace, 986 00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:48,680 understanding, and the unwavering presence of God. 987 00:49:48,680 --> 00:50:07,680 Stay tuned for more Real Talk every Friday on Real Talk Friday.